The Union Difference  

Union Workers Have Greater Job Stability

Although nearly 50 percent of union workers have been with their current employers for at least 10 years, only 22 percent of nonunion workers can make the same claim. Union workers have greater job stability, in part because they're more satisfied with their jobs, receive better pay, have better benefits and have access to fair grievance procedures. Even more important, most collective bargaining agreements protect union members from unjust discharge. Nonunion workers are "employees at will" who can be fired at any time for any reason--or for no reason.

UNION WORKERS AND JOB STABILITY
Percentage of Workers with the Same Employer
for 10 Years or More, 1998

Source: AFL-CIO analysis of the Current Population Survey, Supplement on Displaced Workers, Job Tenure and Occupational Mobility, February 1998. Prepared by the AFL-CIO.